The large free energy for the reaction of lithium with oxygen has attracted the interest of battery researchers for decades. At a nominal potential of about 3 Volts, the theoretical specific energy for a lithium-air battery is between 5000 and 11,000 Wh/kg depending on the nature of the electrolyte and the end of discharge reaction product. Today, it is generally recognized that there are two main configurations of lithium-air battery technology, depending on whether an aqueous or non-aqueous electrolyte is employed in contact with the cathode, i.e., catholyte.
In aqueous lithium-air cells, gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), similar to those used in zinc-air batteries, are commonly employed as the air cathode. The GDE, composed of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces, contains a mixture of interconnected pores, some filled with air or other molecular oxygen-containing gas to facilitate oxygen diffusion, and others filled with the aqueous electrolyte. The cell reaction involves water and the reaction product includes lithium hydroxide, which dissolves in water:4Li+O2+2H2O=4LiOH
The cell chemistry of non-aqueous lithium-air technology is very different from that of aqueous lithium-air technology:Li+O2=Li2O2 
In non-aqueous lithium-air cells, lithium ions and oxygen molecules have to move through the non-aqueous electrolyte. Discharge products mainly consist of Li2O2 that precipitates on the cathode. Moreover, in contradistinction to the GDE used in aqueous lithium-air cells, non-aqueous lithium-air cathodes employ what is sometimes referred to as a flooded electrode configuration wherein the cathode pores, having surfaces that are readily wetted by non-aqueous organic solvents, are entirely filled (i.e., are flooded) by the electrolyte.